1991-92: Aftermath of warIraq accepted a ceasefire on March 3 1991. The departing army had, however, set Kuwait's oil fields alight and looted the small Arab state. Rebellions in the north and south of the country were suppressed by Saddam's loyal troops but by summer 1992 - with Iraq breaking the ceasefire by refusing access to weapons inspectors - American president George Bush threatened further air strikes.Photo: Michael Liphitz, AP

1993: US cruise missiles target BaghdadThe attack came on June 27 1993 on the orders of Mr Bush's successor, Bill Clinton. US Navy ships in the Gulf and the Red Sea fired 23 cruise missiles at the Iraqi intelligence headquarters in Baghdad in retalliation, said the Pentagon, for the country's involvement in a plot to assassinate Mr Bush.Photo: Jassim Mohammed, AP

1994-95: Sanctions lead to hardshipMissiles were one half of a two-pronged assault on Iraq. The other was sanctions which, though intended to inspire the Iraqi people to overthrow Saddam, were by widely recognised to be pushing the country to the brink of famine and, in the words of one Unicef report, producing the "most traumatised child population" the authors had ever encountered.Photo: Enric F. Marti, AP

1996: Iraq sends tanks to Kurdish citiesThe Iraqi military continued to assert itself and, in August 1996, launched an offensive into the northern safe haven, which was set up to protect the Kurds. Saddam's troops fought on behalf of the KDP, a Kurdish faction loyal to Baghdad, to take the city of Arbil from the opposition PUK.Photo: Burhan Ozbilici, AP

1997: Row over weapons inspectorsThe US suspected that Saddam, pictured here admiring guns given to him as presents, was rebuilding his nuclear, biological and chemical weapons capability. Iraq responded by ordering American members of the UN weapon's inspection team to leave the country. The Americans returned but the row stirred up talk of a renewed missile strike on Iraq.Photo: AP

1998: Operation desert foxIn December 1998, UN staff were evacuated from Baghdad and the US and UK launched a bombing campaign to destroy Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. More missiles were fired over three days than in the whole of the Gulf War.Photo: AP

1999: The forgotten warUS and UK fighters continued to patrol the skies in the south of Iraq, frequently taking offensive action. In this picture, rubble is cleared from a petrol station the Iraqi authorities said was hit by a US raid. The Americans replied that they did not attack non-military targets.Photo: Jassim Mohammed, AP

2000: Domestic flights break no fly zonesThe first domestic flights since the war flew between Iraqi cities in November. The flights went through the no fly zones but raised no objections from Britain or the US.Photo: Jassim Mohammed, AP

2000: 10 years onIraqi men watch their president make a speech on national television to mark 10 years since the start of the war - Saddam described his opponents in the conflict as the "enemies of God and the followers of Satan." Despite the heavy burden of international sanctions his rule, as repressive as ever, faces no serious threats.Photo: Ali Hayder, AP